HSC question 'indoctrinating students'
Posted
The Federal Government and the New South Wales Opposition have accused Labor and the unions of using yesterday's Higher School Certificate (HSC) exam to indoctrinate students with left-wing ideologies.
The claim about a question in the industrial technology exam comes as almost 65,000 year-12 students in New South Wales prepare to sit the only compulsory HSC exam this morning: English.
The question asked students to discuss the impact of Government legislation on employees.
Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop says it was clearly about WorkChoices and was another example of how political views are being pushed in the classroom.
"You'd have to be naive in the extreme not to see this as a loaded question," she said.
"It has been backed up by months and months of union campaigning in schools in NSW, pushing their political agenda.
"We've got teachers handing out anti-Government propaganda to school children and parents are complaining that their children are being used as political pawns."
But state Education Minister John Della Bosca has described the reaction to the question as hysterical.
Mr Della Bosca says the question was set by independent experts in the field from public, private and Catholic school committees.
"No question was asked about WorkChoices and there was absolutely no political involvement of the framing of yesterday's industrial technology paper," he said.
"What Mrs Bishop and Mr [John] Howard are demonstrating is just how out of touch they are with young people and their opinions, but also just how much they are prepared to use any issue, including the important HSC exam in NSW, for their electoral purposes."
Board of Studies general manager John Bennett says the HSC is immune from any political interference.
"All HSC and School Certificate papers are set by independent expert committees well in advance of the actual examination period," he said.
"For instance, work is already under way on the 2008 exam papers, so there's no connection between that question or any other question in the paper and any political activity at the moment."
English exam
Almost all Year 12 students will sit English today, the only compulsory exam of the HSC.
Mr Bennett says he is pleased almost half of all students are sitting the advanced course.
He has urged students to stay relaxed and pace themselves throughout the exam.
"When you get in the exam room, have a look at the exam paper, read it very, very carefully, plan your answers and then take every opportunity you can to show the examiners what you know and can do," he said.
Mr Bennett says it is a good time to remind students there is definitely a life after the HSC.
"There are many, many openings these days that students can follow after the examinations," he said.
"People talk about stress in the exams and so on - I put it down to energy, anticipation, looking forward to it starting, looking forward to it being over."
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